In my blog entry on “What Is News?”, I suggested that traditional news sources do not do a good job of keeping us well informed because they overlook so many important, positive stories. Let’s remember that they are in the business of selling newspapers, magazines or programs, and that they feature the stories they know we will pay attention to. If we, their audiences, start paying more attention to success stories and good ideas than we usually pay to disasters, they will start reporting more positive stories.
There are many sources of news today, some of which deliberately share good news. Here is a somewhat random list of good news at global, regional and local levels, and my sources. If you feel moved to do so, add your own list. Or, if you live in Southern Maine, and want to post some positive stories happening in the area, you can do it at Good News Portland.
- Founded by Sister Mary Scullion and Joan Dawon MCConnon in 1984, Project H.O.M.E. is a housing, employment, education, and healthcare organization breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. The program now consists of 447 housing units, three businesses that provide employment to clients, economic development initiatives, a home ownership program for the working poor and a state-of-the-art learning center offering comprehensive education and occupational programming. It earned national awards in 2004 and 2005, and has been selected by HUD as a model program. (Sources: Maura O’Brien, program intern, and World Wide Web)
- In one day, on May 3, 2008, 50,000 volunteers literally cleaned up the country of Estonia. This was the culmination of an exciting grassroots campaign called Let’s Do It. The campaign successfully mobilized 4% of the population of Estonia to clean up 10,000 (more…)
